It was on 3 August 1492 that Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal
Colón in Spanish) set out from Palos del Frontera in
the Province of Huelva in south-western Spain on his flagship
Santa Maria, accompanied by Niña and Pinta. After a
stop on the Canary Islands for reparations, he continued the
voyage on 6 September and after many hardships they reached
the New World on 12 October. The voyage with opposition from
the crew and other problems is the main storyline in Leonardo
Balada’s opera Cristóbal Colón, but
also the long struggle before the expedition could be realised,
hostility, suspicion, hope, despair, is part of the opera in
the shape of numerous flashbacks. Balada started the work in
August 1984 and the premiere was on 24 September 1989. This
and the following performances were recorded and the present
recording was edited from that material.

In his liner-notes Balada says that during the period 1966
to 1975 his musical language was avant-garde. To him ‘the
important elements in opera are the identification of dramatic
moments by the orchestra along with the vocal lyricism of the
singers’, so ‘why would a composer who doesn’t
consider melody a vital component of his style choose to write
an opera?’ But things changed and after a cantata and
a chamber opera in the beginning of the 1980s, followed by
the full length opera Zapata in 1984, where even folklore
ideas were employed he felt ready for the challenge to write Cristóbal
Colón, initiated by Aquiles Garcia Tuero and supported
by a government agency created for the celebration of the 500th anniversary
of the discovery of America.

The opera opens with rhythmic, repetitive music and throughout
the two hours we are immersed in a tremendously powerful score,
where especially the many choral scenes are impressive and
varied. The first act finale (CD 1 tr. 12) builds up to an
orgiastic dance that is one of the real highlights of the opera.
In contrast to this the second act opens with bleak and ill-foreboding
music, leading over to a dialogue between Pinzón and
Columbus, both looking back to the homeland - but for different
reasons. Pinzón searches in vain for his white village;
Columbus expresses hope ‘because we have left so many
things behind in our homeland’. It is a fascinating score
and the reciprocal action between present and past is dramatically
effective and illuminating.

Though it is composed as a constant flow of music, it is still
traditional insofar as there are arias and duets, choruses
and ensembles. Many of these are melodically attractive, thus
Columbus’s first aria (CD 1 tr. 2) is a fine piece which
Carreras manages to round off with a lovely pianissimo. In
the second act (CD 2 tr. 8) he also has a reflective aria of
great beauty. Queen Isabella also has several fine solo opportunities
and the aria that follows her dialogue with her husband, King
Fernando, in the first act (CD 1 tr. 3) is beautiful and has
clear Spanish flavour; the lyrical Now I understand that
it is not good to make a man wait (CD 1 tr. 8) is even
lovelier and she also has a very beautiful aria in act II (CD
2 tr. 6).

But it is not primarily the lyric music, however beautiful,
that makes this work an engrossing experience; it is rather
the tension and intensity that never lets the concentration
slacken. The end of the opera is a thriller, with an intense
build up of the sailors’ chorus, where they attack Columbus,
who has promised to turn back if they don’t see land: Today
is the deadline!, the climax followed by distant shouts
of Tierra! (Land!)

The epilogue is glorious with prayers of thanksgiving, with
light and jubilation. And in the midst of all this Columbus
proudly announces: This is the launching site for new trips
and for strange navies that will lift their flights above ground. And
Isabella declares: Here all of humanity begins in history.

The only thing I regret about this recording is that it wasn’t
possible to see the production as well. The sound is a bit
uneven, as often is the case with live recordings of grand
operas, but this doesn’t matter much. The orchestra and
chorus are impressive and there is a great deal of excellent
solo singing. Carlos Chausson executes Pinzón’s
great monologue (CD 1 tr. 12) with dramatic intensity and glorious
tone. Stefano Palatchi is an authoritative Fernando and Victoria
Vergara sports a fine mezzo-soprano voice as Beatrix, making
the duet with Columbus in act II (CD 2 tr. 4) another highlight
of the performance: a sublime scene of romantic lyrical beauty.

Concerning the two central characters, Columbus and Isabella,
it has to be said that by 1989 both José Carreras and
Montserrat Caballé were past their zenith, but being
two of the greatest opera stars during the last third of the
20th century they never let the performance down.
The bloom of the voice, that made Carreras rise to stardom
in the 1970s, was long gone but the wholehearted involvement,
which always characterized his singing, is as strongly felt
as ever and when not putting too much pressure on the voice
his singing is often attractive. His heroic singing in the
finale still produces goose-skin on the listener.

Montserrat Caballé initially sounds rather strained
with heavy vibrato, but she soon recovers and in the second
act aria (CD 2 tr. 6) she aptly demonstrates that she is still
capable of producing an ethereal pianissimo. Goose-skin again!

The well produced booklet has a quite detailed synopsis and
the full libretto in Spanish with English translation. Full
marks to Naxos!

I have had several opportunities lately to review relatively
new - even brand new - operas, both live and recorded, and
it delights me that opera is not only alive but seems perfectly
healthy. In my review pile at the moment there is a sequel
to the present one, The Death of Columbus, which I am
looking forward to hear. While waiting for that review I would
urge readers to try the present work. It has a lot to offer.

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